Square Enix bringing Dragon Quest online

Mike Luttrell, 27th April 2012

One of Square Enix's longest-running and most heralded game franchises - and thus one of the most heralded franchises in all of video games - is about to take a step into uncharted territory.

Dragon Quest will go all out in a massively multiplayer online game set to make its debut in Japan in just a few months. It's believed that at least some version of the game will make its way to the US, but the question is when that will happen.

For now, though, it's a huge step forward for anyone who considers himself or herself a fan of the franchise. Dragon Quest has been around for 26 years, and is just as popular as ever.

This new entry, Dragon Quest X, will be the first time is has attempted the highly competitive MMO space. It will apparently cost players around $12 per month to participate, in addition to the game itself which is reported to be more expensive than a normal Wii title.

The game will launch in Japan on the Wii, and even if it doesn't end up making its way to the states, Nintendo has said that a Wii U version is also in development, with North America in its line of vision.

Not all globally phenomenal role-playing games are cut out to be an MMO. The Final Fantasy online games have only seen a modicum of success. Dragon Quest's fans are nothing if not fervent, though, and it will be interesting to see an MMO running on Nintendo hardware.